1-20-14
Water Conditions: New Melones Lake is currently holding
1,049,506
acre-feet of water. The lake level dropped very little this week and is
currently at 949 ft. above sea level and 137 ft. from full. The water
is very clear in some areas and slightly stained in others, with a
little bit of debris on the surface. The water temperature is 52-55
degrees. The lake has turned over. The docks have been moved to the
middle ramp on Glory Hole Point. 
Kyle and Tony Giono had a fun day fishing near the Tuttletown boat launch. They caught a handful of trout on nightcrawlers.
Calvin
Livingston took 4-year old Logann Livingston fishing. They caught a
beautiful 2.55-pound rainbow trout on a chrome Kastmaster.
Don Myshrall of Mokelumne Hill caught a nice limit while trolling Kastmasters near the surface.
Trout:
Good. The trout are still biting and should continue to for the next
couple months. Most anglers are catching some nice holdover rainbows
along with a handful of planted trout. The fish are feeding near the
surface in shallow bays, and creek channels. The Department of Fish and
Game has had multiple plants so far for the month of December and will
continue planting fish in January as well.
Mel
and Linda Taguinod caught some nice ones off of Glory Hole Point. They
caught them while bank fishing with pink and orange Power Bait.
Walt Markus and Jeananne Rogers had a fun day catching them on garlic scented Powerbait.
Bank anglers
are catching limits off of Glory Hole Point and near the Tuttletown
boat launch. Try floating Power Bait or Gulp Eggs off of the bottom.
Many different colored dough baits and eggs seem to work with rainbow,
chartreuse, salmon egg, and pink being favorites. Also, the fish seem
drawn to the garlic scented bait. If you are fishing with a color that
is not scented try adding some garlic scented oil to entice more bites.
For anglers who prefer using artificial presentations, try fan casting
Kastmasters and Krocodiles. Also there are fish feeding on the surface
in the morning and evening. To target these fish try using a bubble/fly
or fly fishing. Trolling anglers should try fishing
from 15' to the surface. With a large majority of fish moving to
shallow water, it's a good idea to troll near the shoreline or use a
side planer. Trolling spoons have been working well. Speedy Shiners,
Needlefish, and Excel Spoons are all good choices. Be sure to let out
plenty of line, 150-200'. Trout will often react to a faster speed
troll from 3-5 mph. This is a great time of year to catch some large
brown trout. When trolling with multiple rods it's a good idea to have
one setup for browns. Try using large jointed plugs or rolling shad.
When that rod hits it could be a fish of a lifetime.
Glory
Hole Sports Big Fish of the Week goes to Trevor A. Gregg of San Diego.
He spent a day fishing with Take it to the Limit Guide Gary Burns.
They reported catching fish in fairly shallow water on Power Bait.
Trevor's biggest weighed in at 3-pounds even.
We do
encourage catch and release for the brown trout as The Department of
Fish and Game will no longer be planting them. Carefully measure, weigh
and photograph trophy fish and send us pictures and information.
Kokanee: Done for the season and done spawning upriver. The fish generally start biting again in the spring mid-April into May.
Bass: Good.
Anglers are starting to catch more fish with most of them being chunks
that weigh from 2-4 pounds. There is a large population of fish that
are schooling in deep water from 30-50' and some fish moving up fairly
shallow throughout the day to feed. It is very important to use your
electronics to locate fish and bait. Try using vertical jigging spoons
near the balls of bait. Also drop shotting is a great cold water tactic
that will produce numbers and some quality fish as well. Try using
small shad patterned bait and light fluorocarbon line to get these
finicky fish to bite. Try slowing down a bit and using baits that crawl
across the bottom. A Carolina Rigged Brush Hog or Senko will work well
as a slow dragging presentation. There has been a decent jig bite and
should get better with fish moving up for pre-spawn. ½- ¾ oz. football
jigs are good and are easy to fish at various depths. Try using a
crawdad colored twin tail grub, Brush Hog, or Beaver as a trailer.
California Reservoir Lures makes very durable jigs that are designed
specifically for our Motherlode lakes. Also, use plenty of scent and
reapply multiple times throughout the day to help the fish locate your
bait. With the Department of Fish and Game planting rainbows now is a
good time to target giant fish with trout patterned swim baits.
Glory
Hole Sports employee John Liechty caught and released two giant
largemouth bass on Friday January 17, 2014. He caught these fish on
back to back casts with a trout patterned swim bait.
If
you do keep a bass, please keep the small spotted bass and release the
big female (largemouth) black bass. Glory Hole Sports can teach you the
difference, so you can practice good conservation of the species.
Catfish:
Slow. The catfish will be moving to deep water near rock piles and
ledges. Most anglers don't target catfish at this time of the year.
But, the ones that do will hook into some lunkers. Melones cats tend to
be fish eaters. Frozen shad, anchovies, sardines, and mackerel work
well for bait. The water temperature is warming faster than most years
due to lack of rain and extremely warm weather. Look for extra large
cats moving shallow in the next couple of weeks if the weather pattern
remains the same.